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kawasaki

Kawasaki Robotics teams up with Realtime Robotics to develop robot motion planning

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Kawasaki Robotics, a manufacturer of industrial robots and automation systems, has teamed up Realtime Robotics, a developer of autonomous motion planning for industrial robots, to automate the programming, implementation and control of its industrial robots.

Realtime Robotics and Kawasaki have partnered on several projects, including helping a major automotive manufacturer improve the speed of programming by 70 percent.

This manufacturer reduced the pre-production engineering commissioning process through the use of automatic, collision-free motion planning technology; technology that in the future will enable the time-consuming physical validation of robot paths to be eliminated altogether. [Read more…] about Kawasaki Robotics teams up with Realtime Robotics to develop robot motion planning

Ready Robotics to install its operating system into Kawasaki industrial robots

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Ready Robotics, creators of Forge/OS, the industrial operating system for robots and automation, is partnering with Kawasaki Robotics to bring Ready’s Forge/OS software to Kawasaki’s robot hardware.

Kawasaki is a leading supplier of industrial robots and automation technology, with robot payloads ranging from 3 to 1,500 kg. With over 50 years of experience and thousands of robots installed worldwide, Kawasaki is an automation partner you can trust.

Ready supports Kawasaki’s R series robots, with capacities from 3 kg to 80 kg. Support for more models will be added in future updates. Forge/OS adds another level of ease-of-use to Kawasaki robots with a user interface that is simple to learn, program, and manage. [Read more…] about Ready Robotics to install its operating system into Kawasaki industrial robots

Kawasaki demonstrates unmanned cargo transport system which combines an aircraft and a mobile wheeled robot

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Kawasaki Heavy Industries says it has successfully completed proof-of-concept (PoC) testing for an unmanned cargo transport system. (See video below.)

The system combines Kawasaki’s K-Racer-X1 prototype unmanned vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft and what is commonly described in the industry as an autonomous mobile robot, and which the company describes as a “delivery robot”.

Kawasaki says the PoC testing was conducted with the aim of helping to solve societal issues such as labor shortages in the logistics industry. [Read more…] about Kawasaki demonstrates unmanned cargo transport system which combines an aircraft and a mobile wheeled robot

Demonstration project begins for commercialization of vessels with high-power fuel cells

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NYK Line, Toshiba Energy Systems & Solutions Corporation, Kawasaki Heavy Industries Ltd., Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK), and ENEOS Corporation are pleased to announce that the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) has approved the companies’ participation in a demonstration project for the commercialization of high-power Fuel Cell (FC) vessels.

The project, which will begin in September 2020, is Japan’s first effort to develop a commercially available FC vessel and carry out a demonstration operation involving the supply of hydrogen fuel.

By using FCs as a power source, it will be possible to completely eliminate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions during navigation. [Read more…] about Demonstration project begins for commercialization of vessels with high-power fuel cells

The story behind Kawasaki’s duAro 2 robot

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In June 2018, a new model of the dual-arm SCARA robot “duAro” series, the duAro2, was released. The duAro is a collaborative robot (cobot) first launched by Kawasaki Heavy Industries, or Kawasaki, in June 2015.

Like humans, it has two arms and is capable of working alongside humans in the same environment. While the series’ inaugural duAro1 model specialises in horizontal motion, the duAro2 improves upon its capabilities, extending the range of its arms’ vertical stroke from 15 cm to 55 cm, and increasing the maximum payload of each arm from 2 kg to 3 kg.

Shogo Hasegawa (General Manager of FA Solution Second Department of Robot Business Division in Precision Machinery & Robot Company) is known as the “Father of duAro”, who has been involved since development of duAro1 first began. He talks about developing the duAro2 and the story behind it.

[Read more…] about The story behind Kawasaki’s duAro 2 robot

Kawasaki Robotics offers insight into how industrial robots are made

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Article by Kawasaki Robotics

How are industrial robots built? In this article, Kawasaki Robotics, one of the world’s largest industrial robot makers, provides a guide on the components and the movement of robot arms.

One of the questions many may ask for obvious reasons is: “Are the structures of robots and humans the same?”

Robots and humans share a common feature. Humans and mechanical robots – as opposite as they may seem, they, in fact, share the same underlying structure of links (bones) and joints.  [Read more…] about Kawasaki Robotics offers insight into how industrial robots are made

ABB and Kawasaki partner to launch ‘world’s first’ operating system for collaborative robots

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ABB and Kawasaki Heavy Industries are showcasing the world’s first common collaborative robot operating interface at the ongoing Automatica event. 

The two companies are among the world’s largest industrial robot manufacturers, with almost half a million installations worldwide.

The companies say the new common interface will help address the shortage of skilled workers in many industries. In Japan, for example, one person in five is within a decade of retirement.  [Read more…] about ABB and Kawasaki partner to launch ‘world’s first’ operating system for collaborative robots

Kawasaki duAro: Behind the scenes of collaborative robot development

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Kawasaki Heavy Industries, or Kawasaki, has developed a large number of industrial robots since the launch of its first domestically manufactured industrial robot, the Kawasaki Unimate 2000, in 1969.

It released the dual-arm SCARA robot “duAro”, in June 2015. duAro is the result of the pursuit of the ultimate user-/human-friendly robot.

Shogo Hasegawa from Kawasaki was involved in the project from its conception and took part in its development.

[Read more…] about Kawasaki duAro: Behind the scenes of collaborative robot development

Robot used to remove burner in gas-fired power plant

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Removing a burner from inside a gas turbine is a tricky task. Siemens decided to use a Kawasaki robot to perform this maintenance operation, which heralds the way for reduced outage times for power plant operators.

This Kawasaki MG10HL robot, installed at the Siemens Lausward power plant in Dusseldorf, has a payload capacity of up to 1,000 kg and a 4-metre reach. The powerful, extra large payload Kawasaki robot was installed to perform the dangerous, routine maintenance task of replacing burners and transitions on huge gas turbines.

Watch the video here

Kawasaki robots take the biscuit

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Fox’s, a UK biscuit brand, has replaced SCARA type robots with Kawasaki robots to overcome efficiency issues relating to obsolescence.

Back in 1989, Fox’s Uttoxeter facility first implemented robotic handling of wrapped biscuits, reducing operators from 34 to just 14, using SCARA configuration robots.

Out of three replacement options proposed to Fox’s, Kawasaki suggested a move back to conventional six axes arms. Through simulations, Kawasaki Robotics UK was able to illustrate that the RS-20N Robots would cost effectively match, and exceed if required, the output of the existing SCARA robots.

[Read more…] about Kawasaki robots take the biscuit